Icing on the cake.

Last week we were talking about surrender. Have you ever noticed how our posture of surrender with our hands raised is the same posture that kids have when they want you to pick them up? Surrender is us saying to our heavenly Father, I cannot do this on my own. I need Your help. Pick me up please, before I fall flat on my face! With God we know that we have safety and victory. On our own, we can easily be defeated by the enemy and go through life defeated with no hope.

That’s not what God wants for us. Romans 12:1 told us that we are to be living sacrifices. We are to live our lives surrendered to the plans and purposes of God. Did you know that being a living sacrifice means you must die to self? It sounds bad but read the above. On our own life is a mess. So I’d much rather die to myself and let go of the mess that I made of life and lay hold of what God wants to put in my hands.

Being a living sacrifice means this life that we live is no longer about us and what we want. It’s all about God and what He wants. What does God want me to do with my life? What job does He want me to have? Which city does He want me to live in? Which church does He want me attending? If you are single, who does He want me to date or marry?

I don’t get to pick and choose what I want or what makes me feel good. I prayerfully ask for direction. Psalms 37:23 says, “When Yahweh delights in how you live your life, He establishes your every step.” See how we need to make the first step? We first must have a life that delights God and then He will establish our steps. That begins by us choosing to daily surrender to God’s will for us. The next verse says, “If they stumble badly they will still survive, for the Lord lifts them up with His hands.” A surrendered life is a protected life.

Surrender is just the beginning, and it is a daily choice. We choose to surrender daily. Not sometimes, not when we agree- daily if not moment by moment.

Romans 12:2 says, “Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.”

How do we live a beautiful life satisfying and perfect in God’s eyes? By allowing the Holy Spirit to work on us from the inside out. We are so good at fixing the outside, what people can see. It’s like putting beautiful icing on a cake that’s been baked with all the wrong ingredients. Or on a piece of Styrofoam cut into the shape of a cake. It may look good but when the moment of truth comes, when it comes time to cut the cake, everyone will know something has gone terribly wrong.

God is all about the inside. What makes the cake a cake. All the right ingredients at the right time. See we don’t know what kind of cake we are going to be, yet we are so good at comparison. How come God put chocolate in you and I am getting carrot? I don’t even like carrot. Stop it. The work God is doing in you is a unique work. You may not understand it but surrender anyway. Lay your life down before God and just surrender it all. Tell Him, “Lord, have Your way in me and through me. I surrender to Your will and Your ways.”

I’m not saying life is going to be easy after you do that. Quite the contrary, now the real work begins. But it will all be worth it. If you are not attending a church regularly, let me tell you, you cannot do the Christian journey with just you and Jesus. Daily devotions are great, but they should be in addition to being part of a church family.

God does not want us wandering around on our own. We are created for family. Spiritual family that we do life with and go after the things of God together with.  A family where you are known. Not the icing on the cake but the real you. A family where you can be real and receive good godly counsel to help you along your walk with God.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.